THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

A research proposal is an overall plan, scheme, structure and strategy designed to obtain answers to
the research questions or problems that constitute your research project. A research proposal
should outline the various tasks you plan to undertake to fulfil your research objectives, test the
hypotheses or obtain answers to your research questions. It should also state your reasons for
undertaking the study. Broadly, a research proposal’s main function is to detail the operational plan
for obtaining answers to your research questions. In doing so, it ensures and reassures the reader of
the validity of the methodology for obtaining answers to your research questions accurately and
objectively.

In order to achieve this function, a research proposal must tell you, your research supervisor and
reviewers the following information about your study:

 What you are proposing to do;

 How you plan to proceed;
 Why you selected your proposed strategy.

Contents of a Research Proposal

A research proposal should contain the following information about your study:

 Introduction
o Background of the study
o Problem statement
Having provided a broad introduction to the area under study, now focus on issues
relating to its central theme. Identify some of the main unanswered questions. Here
some of the main research questions that you would like to answer through your
study should also be raised, and a rationale for each should be provided. Knowledge
gained from other studies and the literature about the issues you are proposing to
investigate should be an integral part of this section. Specifically, this section should:
 Identify the issues that are the basis of your study;
 Specify the various aspects of /perspectives of these
 Identify the main gaps in the existing body of knowledge
 Raise some of the main research questions that you want to answer
through your study
 Identify what knowledge is available concerning yours questions,
specifying the differences of opinion in the literature regarding these
questions if differences exist
 Develop a rationale for a research study with particular references to
how your study with fill the identified gaps
 o The purpose of the study
o Objectives of the study
o Research questions
o Identification of variables
o Research hypotheses (if applicable)
o Scope and limitations of the study
 Literature review
Start with a very broad perspective of the main subject area, before gradually narrowing the
focus to the central problem under investigation. In doing so, cover the following aspects of
your study area:
 An overview of the main area under study
 A historical perspective (development or growth, etc.) pertinent to
the study area;
 Philosophical or ideological issues relating to the topic;
 Trends in terms of preference, if appropriate;
 Major theories, if any;
 The main issues, problems and advances in the subject area under
study;
 the important theoretical and practical issues relating to the central
problem under study
 The main findings relating to the core issue(s)

This involves

o Theoretical framework that underpins your study

o The conceptual framework that forms the basis of your study
 Research Design
o The study design
o The setting of your study
o Research instruments you are planning to use
o Sampling design and sample size
o Validity and reliability of your measures
o Ethical issues involved and how you propose to deal with them
 Data processing procedures
 Proposed chapters of the research report
 Proposed time-frame for the study (implementation schedule using a Gantt chart)
 Budget for the study